Their book is So You Think You Can Spell?: Killer Quizzes for the Incurably Competitive and Overly Confident. The subtitle says it all.

I have worked my way through about half of the book, and I can say it is simultaneously fun and humbling. For example, pick the correct spelling: herculian/herculeian/herculaean/herculaean/herculean. How about bonnehommie/bonhommie/bonhomie/bonnehomie? Back in October, I wrote a one-line review of it elsewhere: "You think you know... but you don't know." Don't let that discourage you; think of it as a brain-tickler. The authors, David Grambs and Ellen Levine, have included plenty of variety in the quizzes and games, and the book is interspersed with interesting facts about words, lexicography, and language. There is also a brief history of the spelling bee in America (and remember: you can be a part of that history this coming Saturday night!).

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Come on out to the next Durham Spelling Bee on Saturday, April 24th at Joe Van Gogh. Spellers from 15 to 115 are welcome to compete. Spectators of all ages are welcome, too. Cheer for your favorite spellers. Support local Durham. Maybe become famous on the Internet!

Sign up at 6:00 p.m. Spelling begins at 6:30 p.m.

There is a limit of 25 spellers, so sign up early if you want a spot. There will be prizes!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

There are about 6,900 languages being spoken in the world today. Unesco estimates that half of these will have disappeared by the end of the century as the languages of world commerce – English, Chinese and Spanish – spread.

And my favorite bit:

The last speakers of Zoque, a language from Tabasco, Mexico, are two elderly men who refuse to speak to one another. Relatives claim their mutual silence isn't motivated by personal animosity but by the fact that they have little in common.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

My apologies for the delay in posting. Here is our winner, Colie Hoffman!

Colie's winning word was "schism." Colie and Joe Nofziger used up all the really difficult words (e.g. zugzwang, bouquiniste, lagniappe, estaminet, vichyssoise), so we had to revert to the merely difficult (e.g. muumuu, exchequer, mulct, troglodytic, asceticism). Several of the contestants went many rounds this time. Yippee!